Hanoi
Vietnam’s capital is a captivating blend of ancient charm and modern dynamism, where tree-lined boulevards, centuries-old temples, and a bustling Old Quarter converge in a city pulsating with life.
Our specialists have spent years traveling and operating in Vietnam and using their experience have created a series of sample itineraries, providing inspiration for your tailor-made trip. The routes offered below highlight Vietnam’s key destinations and experiences and also showcase how they can be combined with near neighbors Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.
What ever you want from your dream trip, our team of
experts are ready to help.
Modern Vietnam is a thrilling, dynamic tropical destination. Urban Vietnam is fast becoming Asia’s next great ‘tiger economy’; its cities are vibrant hives of entrepreneurial activity, pulsating day and night, with a work-hard, play-hard mentality clear to see.
This stands in stark contrast to rural Vietnam. Head out of the cities to find stillness and tranquillity amongst emerald green rice terraces, karst hill ranges, and tropical backwaters. In northern Vietnamese rural destinations such as Sapa, Pu Luong, and Mai Chau you’ll also find a kaleidoscopic patchwork of hill tribe villages, each with distinct dress and dialect, often displaying a lifestyle that has experienced little change for centuries.
As to the future of Vietnam – it’s among the most dynamic and rapidly developing nations on the planet and continues to excite and surprise us here at Unforgettable Travel Company. All we can say is “go now” – Vietnam certainly won’t be waiting around for you.
Vietnam’s elongated coastal shape lends itself to straightforward runs north-to-south – Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City – or vice versa, and we can’t lie that this routing will be the backbone of most itineraries. If you’ve a sense of adventure and a little more time on your hands however it’s easy to split away from the coast and discover Vietnam’s rural and often dramatically scenic interior.
Vietnam’s capital is a captivating blend of ancient charm and modern dynamism, where tree-lined boulevards, centuries-old temples, and a bustling Old Quarter converge in a city pulsating with life.
Overnight cruises through these idyllic twin bays in northern Vietnam are truly captivating with their otherworldly limestone karsts, emerald waters, hidden caves, and floating fishing villages.
The ancient town of Hoi An is a UNESCO-listed gem, where lantern-lit streets showcase a fusion of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese influences.
Formerly Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City truly encapsulates Vietnam’s dynamic modern spirit while blending colonial architecture with vibrant markets and a lively food scene.
Pu Luong, Mai Chau, Ha Giang, Sapa…the rising hills and cascading rice terraces of Vietnam’s far north are impossibly beautiful and rich in adventure.
Vietnam’s “Rice Bowl,” the Mekong Delta is a lush, water-veined region where floating markets, verdant farm life, stilted villages, and a maze of waterways create a vibrant tapestry of life.
Vietnam has a complex, coastal climate, but this means that at any one time, there is a region of the country that is ‘in season’. If you only have a limited window to travel to Vietnam then we can definitely make the most of your time whenever it is you’re planning to visit.
If you’re totally flexible on dates and wish to see the whole country and at the very best time to do it, then we’d suggest planning for late spring to early summer: late February through to the end of May. At this time rainfall is low and temperatures are typically warm without being unbearably hot nationwide.
Check out The Best Time to Travel to Vietnam for more details.
What we love best about Vietnam is that it has something for everyone. Honeymooners looking for an exclusive luxury escape? Talk to us about Ninh Vanh Bay and Con Dao. Sightseeing junkies wanting to gorge on history and culture? We’ll make sure your itinerary is bursting at the seams. Families seeking out a timeless trip with that perfect mix of adventure, cultural insight, and precious family time? Vietnam can provide endless combinations, adaptable for any holiday period year-round.
This remarkable ride allows you to witness the true essence of Hanoi, unveiling its daily activities and venturing into lesser-known territories of winding backstreets, enchanting alleyways, local residences, vibrant markets, and clandestine bazaars.
Indulge in an exclusive cooking class during which you’ll discover the best of Vietnamese ingredients and cooking techniques, first visiting the local market to pick up supplies, then heading to a tiny old-town restaurant for hands-on instruction.
Mekong River cruises in Vietnam offer a mesmerizing journey through the heart of the Mekong Delta. Sail past lush rice paddies, floating markets, and traditional villages, immersing in the rich culture and natural beauty of this enchanting region.
A stunning combination of pristine, palm-fringed white sands and turquoise bays, lush mountains, rice fields and cities with ancient temples, Vietnam offers something for every traveller. Whether you want to explore history, sample mouthwatering foods, take part in outdoor adventures or do nothing but gaze out at the breathtaking scenery, you’ll find it all in Vietnam. With so many enticing destinations, it can be hard to decide where to go, but these are the country’s must-visits. Find out our selection of best places to visit in Vietnam.
A typical first-time tour of Vietnam will take in the big-hitting highlights Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City. Most visitors find themselves immensely charmed by this enthralling destination, with a second visit then opening up opportunities to get away from the tourist trail and explore in much greater depth.
A run-down of our favorite remote and unexplored areas of Vietnam is below; more information can also be found here.
Vietnam is a destination rich in adventure, culture, great food, history – and incredible natural scenery. Travelling through the country you’ll encounter staggering karst peaks both on land and off the coast, dramatic mountain ranges, lush jungles, and fertile paddy fields. Below we pick out the very best areas of the country for outdoor adventure.
Vietnam has boomed as a tourism hotspot over the last few decades. The vast growth in international tourism began through the 80s with a trickle of backpackers, but now confidently rivals nearby Thailand or Malaysia with accommodation and amenities catering to the full spectrum of travelers.
As with the rest of Southeast Asia, Vietnam’s friendly locals, warm hospitality, a well-established tourist infrastructure means it is a fine destination for all types of visitors - especially those traveling on their own. It remains a fixture on the Southeast Asia backpacker trail and is equally a welcome retreat for upmarket clientele just looking to get away on their own.
Should you be considering a solo trip to Vietnam, we’re here to reassure you that it’s largely a very safe and welcoming place to travel - with lots of adventures to be had along the way! Read our guide to the basics of solo travel in Vietnam - with many of these principles applicable for visitors of all stripes.
The Mekong Delta is an unmissable region of Vietnam. Situated south of Ho Chi Minh City, it’s a vibrant tropical paradise, rich in local culture and verdant scenery.
The highlight of any visit to the Delta is taking in one of the area’s magical floating markets. The region is a patchwork of rivers, canals, and tiny streams; road and car use is a relatively modern addition, long predated by transport and trade on the water.
The floating markets - many of which date back centuries - are held at strategic confluence points across the Delta. Local people travel from miles around, bringing boats selling fresh fruits, tropical produce, poultry, clothing, all manner of domestic goods, and livestock.
Starting from a hotel base in Can Tho, Cai Be, or Vinh Long, your visit will be on a private boat, getting right into the thick of the action! Note that the markets work to a traditional farming schedule, so the best time to visit is just after dawn when they are at their busiest and most vibrant.
We’ve put together a guide to the very best markets in the Mekong Delta below.
The north of Vietnam is a world unto itself, standing in complete contrast to south Vietnam. You won’t find the buzzing commercialism of Ho Chi Minh City, the pancake-flat rice paddies of the Mekong Delta, nor the blissful beaches of Da Nang or Nha Trang; instead, the north is a dramatic landscape of soaring mountains and cascading rice terraces, littered with tiny, picturesque villages, home to a cornucopia of ethnic minorities.
We’ve put together all the information you’ll to plan your trip to northern Vietnam - read on below.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay is Vietnam’s leading tourist destination.
Translating roughly as ‘Bay of the Descending Dragon’, Halong is famed for its limestone karst peaks and placid turquoise waters, providing staggering natural beauty which is unlike anywhere else on the planet.
Halong Bay cruises have rightly become one of the most popular experiences during a tour of Vietnam. There are many cruise ship operators to choose from and numerous variations to your Halong Bay experience. We’ve put together this guide to Halong Bay, with our recommendations on when, how, and who best to explore it with.
For many people, there may be complex associations with Vietnam. You may have grown up in a time when Vietnam featured heavily on the nightly news – rarely if ever in a good light. Thankfully, Vietnam today is a vibrant, modern, and very welcoming destination, bearing almost no relation to the Vietnam of the 1960s and 1970s.
With the ‘American War’ still well within living memory however there are many museums, landmarks, and other sites of interest to explore throughout the country, should this be of interest to you. In this guide, we’ll look at the most important sites in Vietnam to learn more about the War, each of which can be easily added to your tailor-made tour.
As a long, thin, coastal country Vietnam experiences quite a range of different microclimates, so picking the ‘best’ time to travel is not straightforward. For a complete tip-to-toe trip, we’d recommend any time from late February through to early May.
A hard yes to this! Vietnam’s core destinations are not just alluring but inviting too. The Vietnamese are outstanding hosts, and flexible to the needs of families: guides can be hand-picked to complement young or older children, while hotel and restaurant staff will always be keen to make a fuss and ensure you get the best care throughout. Each of the principal destinations has sightseeing tours or activities catering directly for adventurous young explorers: cycling tours in Hue, village walks in the Mekong Delta, cooking classes in Hoi An – cherished family memories guaranteed. Vietnam’s unique climate really comes to the fore for families too: it’s the only destination in Asia that can work for any school holidays year-round – basing trips around the central coast in summer, southern beaches in winter, and top-to-toe tours in spring or early autumn.
This debate will rage ad infinitum and will never reach its conclusion, but what we can absolutely confirm is that Vietnam will go toe-to-toe with any honeymoon destination on the planet. We find that most honeymooners are looking for a blend of adventure and opulence, and Vietnam certainly won’t disappoint in this respect. There are scores of fabulous accommodation choices: in the cities chic boutique bases for urban exploration, or out on the coast exclusive tropical escapes ticking all the usual honeymoon boxes – secluded beaches, plunge pool villas, butler service, and extensive spa menus.
Absolutely yes. Vietnam’s central coast contains several fine white sand beaches, including legendary former GI playground China Beach just south of Danang, and Cua Dai and An Bang beaches just outside Hoi An. Further south is Nha Trang, a busy resort city that has some good hotels within town or even better luxury retreats found in isolated coves further up and down the coast. Next stop south is Mui Ne, quieter and more laidback than Nha Trang, and a great base for adventure activities. Arguably though Vietnam’s most idyllic escapes are its offshore islands: rapidly-developing Phu Quoc, or sparsely-populated formal French penal colony Con Dao.
The region formerly known as French Indochina encompasses Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. With fluid borders and excellent transport links between the three – plus neighboring Thailand – combination trips are easy to put together. All three nations claimed independence in the 1950s and each has experienced a unique and uniquely eventful journey into the present day; a trip to the region is an opportunity to experience these captivating destinations side-by-side, where you’ll quickly learn that while the culture and character of each is markedly different, all are equally compelling.
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